I was adrinking with some buddies not long ago. As it happened, I was drinking ORVW 15 YO and was, as usual, blowing off about how good it is. One of the other guys offers me a taste of JW Black label. Now, being the spirit sophisticate I fancy myself, I thought that ain't good enough for me, give me a single malt.
Still, having been humbled by taste tests before, I says, 'Okay, lemme have a sip of that Johnny Walker'.
Well, blow me down, that was a very nice scotch. So me and Johnny and Old Rip did a little business together for a while and all profited by the association. Fortunately, I did not overindulge and didn't have pay in pain the next day.
Now, to the real story. A while after that, I was in my favorite liquor store and they trot out this Johnny Walker 'sampler' package. It contains the Red, Black, Green, and yes, the BLUE lable scotchs in 200 ml bottles. The cost is about $65. A little quick figgerin in the pea brain revealed that this was 'worth' a couple of hundred smackers. Well, being one who is easily lead, I succumb to the pitch and buy this 'steal'.
I calls up my best drinking buddy and says we gone have a JW blind taste off. We set the deal up and he correctly identfies the JW ranking of Blue as the top and Red as the Bottom, only switching the Black and the Green. Me? Well, I ranked the Black at the top, next the Green, then the Blue, and last the Red. We both seemed to be able to tell that the Red was the cheapest.
I was so damn sure that the one I picked as the top was the very expensive Blue label, that I was just asmiling inside, waiting for the opportunity to show my buddy up.
Warn't to be. He showed me up and then he commences to tell me how he could pick out the Blue Label. Well, the bastard had it on me. All I could do was mutter, 'Well, you know that Black Label is some damn good stuff!' 'Naw,' he says, 'too sweet!' I coulda kicked his behind, except that he is my friend and as fine a person as it has ever been my pleasure to know and be around. So I had to stiffle myself and give him the Johnny Walker Blue Label.
Post script. He took the JW scotchs with him when he went to visit his brother (who is a great and sophisticated bourbon drinker) and his brother also picked the Black Label first. So I had a wee bit of satifaction.